For the first time in over half a century, Argentina’s Televisión Pública will not be transmitting this year’s football World Cup.
Officials in President Javier Milei government have confirmed that the state will not be buying the broadcasting rights to the 2026 World Cup, to be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and putting in on free-to-air television.
The decision marks a historic break for Argentina, a football-mad country that has celebrating winning the World Cup three times. Since 1974 (Germany), state television has transmitted every World Cup in whole or in part. The last time TV Pública did not participate in the broadcasting of football’s premier tournament was in 1970 (Mexico), when the images were broadcast via private media.
According to the Casa Rosada, the decision is more economic than political and relates to President Milei’s “chainsaw” austerity cuts.
“We’re not going to spend US$7 million on football,” pointed out government sources, in allusion to the rough cost of acquiring the transmission rights.
Although the government has until December to change its mind, officials assure that the decision has already been taken. For Qatar 2022, the investment topped US$10 million although this was recovered with advertising earning of US$12 million. Nevertheless, 20 percent of that financing came from provinces and public entities, a move that was questioned by some quarters.
Cuts and precedents
The World Cup no show should be seen in tandem with the policy of fierce cutbacks applied by Milei’s government to state media.
In recent months, dismissals and voluntary retirement schemes for Radio y Televisión Argentina (RTA), TV Pública and Radio Nacional have been made official. Furthermore, key state programmes like Encuentro, Pakapaka and Deportv are also under analysis with the possibility of closures.
The move also reflects a previous trend – last September the state channel did not transmit a match between Argentina and Chile in the World Cup qualifiers after failing to reach an agreement with broadcasters, rights holders and TV channels. The exclusion from the World Cup deepens that line.
The history of the World Cups on state screens reflects ups and downs but also continuity. In 1974, TV Pública was the only channel transmitting the tournament from Germany. In 1998, coverage was restricted to a few provinces for questions of licences. And in 2022 there was only public access for a handful of matches, complemented by private television.
The current decision breaks with a tradition of 52 years whereby Argentina's main public channel brought the world’s greatest sporting spectacle to millions nationwide free of charge.
– TIMES/PERFIL
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